Faith Reflections

Do we become more youthful in our faith?

Wisdom, strength, and knowledge are benefits of experience and time. It is a bit ironic, then, to consider that an important part of our spiritual growth as adults is about recapturing the simplicity, purity, and conviction of our relationship with God from when we were younger than the age of reason! As children, we believed without complication. God was good. We prayed wholeheartedly, knowing God was listening and above all loving us because we were wonderful. Our Guardian Angel guided and guarded us; we needed one because we understood God was also busy listening to and loving every single person in the world!

As we went through adolescence and then entered fully into adulthood, life often became complicated for us or for those who deeply mattered to us. We still carried God with us, hopefully daily but sometimes only weekly. All we believed as children about God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit remains important and central to our lives . . . but time goes faster, and life gets busier. Often we are surrounded by noise . . . from culture shifts decade to decade, and from information sources everywhere— radios, TVs, computers, and phones. And noise arising from conflicts, sometimes personal and sometimes in the world.

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As we’ve worked to know God and ourselves better, our faith has matured within us. More and more of the mysteries and wonders of God have a place in our hearts and our minds. God has been good throughout all our growth; and maybe we see Him more on a daily basis again. We know He has never waivered in loving us. His love has always been unconditional; we just understand that a bit more fully now.

While many of us are at ages when there are a few more doctor appointments on our calendars than 10 years ago, this is also the perfect time of life for our faith to come more fully into its prime. Our conversations and prayers with God have energy and confidence . . . and a history we can respect. We realize the never-ending depths of the impact of faith in our lives, and celebrate the clarity and energy that it holds for us. Maybe we’ll remember our Guardian Angel . . . or have we collected a few by now?! . . . and regain the comfort of putting ourselves truly in God’s hands like we did when we were children.